The Open Data Protocol (“OData”) is an open web protocol for querying and updating data. OData allows a user to query a data source using an HTTP protocol and receive a result in a useable format. OData can be used to expose and access data from several types of data source like databases, file systems and websites.
OData can be used by a variety of technologies such as, but not limited to, .NET, Java, and Ruby. On a client side, OData may be associated with a variety of technologies such as, but not limited to, .NET, Silverlight, WP7, JavaScript, PHP, Ruby and Objective-C. This makes OData very attractive to situations where data will be accessed by a variety of different clients. However, because of the vast varieties of technologies used, services created using OData may be difficult for a user implement, difficult for a user to understand, and difficult to determine if the service is relevant for their use.